The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2015)0336 – C8‑0250/2015),

–  having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (2014-2020) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006(1) (EGF Regulation),

–  having regard to Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 of 2 December 2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020(2), and in particular Article 12 thereof,

–  having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management(3) (IIA of 2 December 2013), and in particular point 13 thereof,

–  having regard to the trilogue procedure provided for in point 13 of the IIA of 2 December 2013,

–  having regard to the letter of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs,

–  having regard to the letter of the Committee on Regional Development,

–  having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A8-0272/2015),

A.  whereas the Union has set up legislative and budgetary instruments to provide additional support to workers who are suffering from the consequences of major structural changes in world trade patterns or of the global financial and economic crisis and to assist their reintegration into the labour market;

B.  whereas the Union’s financial assistance to workers made redundant should be dynamic and made available as quickly and efficiently as possible, in accordance with the Joint Declaration of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission adopted during the conciliation meeting on 17 July 2008, and having due regard to the IIA of 2 December 2013 in respect of the adoption of decisions to mobilise the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF);

C.  whereas the adoption of the EGF Regulation reflects the agreement reached between the Parliament and the Council to reintroduce the crisis mobilisation criterion, to increase the Union financial contribution to 60 % of the total estimated cost of proposed measures, to increase efficiency for the treatment of EGF applications in the Commission and by the Parliament and the Council by shortening the time for assessment and approval, to widen eligible actions and beneficiaries by introducing self-employed persons and young people and to finance incentives for setting up own businesses;

D.  whereas Belgium submitted application EGF/2015/003 BE/Ford Genk for a financial contribution from the EGF following 5 111 redundancies of which 3 701 workers were made redundant in Ford Genk, operating in the NACE Rev. 2 division 29 ('Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers')(4) and 1 180 in 11 suppliers and downstream producers, whereas the estimate number of 4 500 redundant workers are expected to participate in the measures;

E.  whereas the application fulfils the eligibility criteria set down by the EGF Regulation;

1.  Agrees with the Commission that the conditions set out in Article 4(1)(a) of the EGF Regulation are met and that, therefore, under that Regulation Belgium is entitled to a financial contribution of EUR 6 268 564 from the total costs of EUR 10 447 607;

2.  Notes that the Belgian authorities submitted the application for a financial contribution from the EGF on 24 March 2015, and that its assessment was finalised by the Commission on 14 July 2015 and notified to Parliament on 1 September 2015; welcomes the speedy evaluation period of less than five months;

3.  Notes that the production of passenger cars decreased by 14,6 % in the EU-27 between 2007 and 2012 and that in the same period China more than doubled its market share in passenger car production; concludes that those events are directly linked to major structural changes in world trade patterns due to globalisation;

4.  Recalls that a first wave of dismissals in Ford Genk in 2013 gave way to a first EGF application also based on globalisation, which is currently being implemented(5) and that this second application relates to the redundancies at the Ford Genk plant carried out in 2014 up to the final closure of the facility in December 2014;

5.  Notes that the Belgian car industry has suffered a production decline of 15,58 % as global production increased by 18,9 %;

6.  Recalls that Ford Genk has been the largest employer in the province of Limburg; notes that redundancies cause considerable damage to the Limburg economy with a total loss of more than 8 000 jobs (including indirect job losses), most of which are Union citizens between 30 and 54 years of age, a rise in the unemployment rate of between 1,8 and 2 percentage points (up to a 29,4 % increase in the region's unemployment rate from 6,8 % to 8,8 %), a reduction in GDP of between 2,6 % and 2,9 % and a potential drop in labour productivity of 10,9 %, due to the high importance of the automotive industry for labour productivity in the region;

7.  Notes that, to-date, the NACE Revision 2 Division 29 sector (Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers) has been the subject of 22 EGF applications, 12 of which were based on trade related globalisation and 10 on the global financial and economic crisis; recommends, therefore, that the Commission makes a study on the Asian and South American markets in order for the EU manufacturers to learn more about the new import licensing requirements and how to be more present and competitive on these markets;

8.  Welcomes the fact that, in order to provide workers with speedy assistance, the Belgian authorities decided to initiate the implementation of the personalised services to the affected workers on 1 January 2015, well ahead of the decision and even the application on the granting the EGF support for the proposed coordinated package;

9.  Notes that Belgium is planning three types of measures for the redundant workers covered by this application: (i) individual job search assistance, case management and general information services, (ii) training and re-training, and (iii) allowances and incentives;

10.  Welcomes that dismissed workers can benefit from a large variation of proposed measures, containing a number of actions for individual job search assistance, case management and general information services; training and re-training, also provided by the former employer;

11.  Notes that the coordinated package of personalised services has been drawn up in consultation with the targeted beneficiaries, their representatives, social partners, local, regional and national public employment bodies and training institutions as well as the company;

12.  Recalls the importance of improving the employability of all workers by means of adapted training and the recognition of skills and competences gained throughout a worker's professional career; expects the training on offer in the coordinated package to be adapted not only to the needs of the dismissed workers but also to the actual business environment;

13.  Stresses that vocational training measures should aim to improve workers’ employability and should be adapted to the actual labour market demands; notes at the same time that the training and re-training measures should recognise and also build upon the specific skills and competences that the affected workers have acquired in the automotive and its supplying industry;

14.  Recalls that in line with Article 7 of the EGF Regulation, the design of the coordinated package of personalised services should anticipate future labour market perspectives and required skills and should be compatible with the shift towards a resource-efficient and sustainable economy;

15.  Notes that the information provided on the coordinated package of personalised services to be funded from the EGF includes information on complementarity with actions funded by the Structural Funds; stresses that the Belgian authorities confirm that the eligible actions do not receive assistance from other Union financial instruments; reiterates its call to the Commission to present a comparative evaluation of those data in its annual reports in order to ensure full respect for the existing regulations and that no duplication of Union-funded services can occur;

16.  Welcomes that the authorities plan to utilise most of the available funds for personalised services and only 4,94 % of the total costs for the coordinated package of personalised services will be used for allowances and incentives, which remains much below the maximum allowed 35 %;

17.  Appreciates the improved procedure put in place by the Commission, following the Parliament's request for the accelerated release of grants; notes the time pressure that the new timetable implies and the potential impact on the effectiveness of case instruction;

18.  Approves the decision annexed to this resolution;

19.  Instructs its President to sign the decision with the President of the Council and arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union;

20.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution, including its annex, to the Council and the Commission.

(1) OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 855. (2) OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884. (3) OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1. (4) Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 establishing the statistical classification of economic activities NACE Revision 2 and amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 3037/90 as well as certain EC regulations on specific statistical domains (OJ L 393, 30.12.2006, p. 1). (5) EGF/2013/012 BE/Ford Genk (COM(2014)0532).

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (application from Belgium - EGF/2015/003 BE/Ford Genk)

(The text of this annex is not reproduced here since it corresponds to the final act, Decision (EU) 2015/1869.)